Live and Let Die
by Nick the Raccoon
Summary: Fang the Sniper: Nack goes on a mission and meets up with his old friend, Nova.


Fang the Sniper  
  
Hitweasel Chronicles  
  
Live and Let Die  
  
By Nick "frwl" Byrd  
  
This fiction is based on the SEGA character Fang the Sniper, more commonly known   
  
as Nack the Weasel. He is also known as Jet the Bountyhunter, but for the love   
  
of all us Cowboy Bebop fans, just to keep the confusion away, let's not call   
  
him that more than necessary.  
  
This fiction takes place before Nack's Golden Mistake and has very little to do   
  
with Nack's Legendary Tale (NLT= Nack's Golden Mistake, Fallen Angel, etc).  
  
THIS IS NOT A NACK/BOND CROSSOVER.   
  
Nova is © to Cynicallia. Andrew Millitek is © to me. The lyrics   
  
to Live and Let Die are © to Paul McCartney & Wings, MGM, and United   
  
Artists.  
  
And now the feature presentation: Live and Let Die  
  
Nack stared at the poster hanging on the bulletin board outside the   
  
police station. "Andrew Millitek: Wanted DEAD. Reward: $1,350,000. Crimes: Drug   
  
smuggling, weaponry and technology smuggling, illegal use of biotechnology.   
  
EXTREAMLY DANGEROUS." The picture following this wasn't any more encouraging; it   
  
was a mugshot of the villain. Fire seemed to burn in the coyote's eyes, hate   
  
curled in his lips. Nack was a bit hesitant to take on such missions; this guy   
  
seemed big. $1,350,000... that was what drove him though. The police would never   
  
directly ask Nack for his help, but he knew that they knew he would be there to   
  
earn their money. And boy did he earn it. He always had to work off minimal   
  
information and resources, and maybe that was one of the reasons he was so well   
  
known for his "skills," but every time he did this he knew he was risking it   
  
all. Fame and fortune for the Fang; Live life to the fullest; Kill or be   
  
killed... Live and Let Die.  
  
"Nothin' personal Andy," Nack said in a low tone as he ripped the paper   
  
off the wall. "But you're goin' down."  
  
***  
  
Nova sat behind a desk in a dark upper-floor study of an old house, and   
  
opposite her sat the silhouette of an echidna, an ex-Legionnaire to be precise.   
  
His eyes glowed in the dark, not by natural phenomena, but because of his   
  
biotech enhancements. "So, you're a bounty hunter?" the echidna's voice came.  
  
"You could call me that," the green weasel nodded. "I did come here   
  
because of your mission."  
  
"Excellent," the echidna said, pushing a small poster across the table to   
  
Nova.   
  
She read over it quickly. "Andrew Millitek? Wanted dead... not a   
  
problem." Nova laughed lightly. "Why do you want him dead?"  
  
"He tried to kill me, thought that his 'enhancements' were superior to   
  
my own." The echidna leaned forwards into the light to reveal a gruesome sight.   
  
There was no flesh on the right side of his face from about half an inch below   
  
his eye up to his eyebrow, but what showed was pure metal. A true Dark Legionnaire   
  
with a heart to be a cyborg. Nova looked away from the sight; she didn't want to   
  
know exactly what happened to him... if she was going to take on some cyborg   
  
that did that to a Legionnaire...  
  
"1,350,000 bucks, huh?" Nova began, trying to change the subject. "Tell   
  
me, do you even have that kind of dough?"  
  
Silence. "Sorry, pal, but I'm not about to risk my life only to get   
  
scammed in the end." Nova sighed, standing up and starting to the door. She   
  
didn't get more than two steps away when there was a loud slam behind her. The   
  
weasel slowly turned to see a briefcase filled with money sitting on desk.  
  
"All you need to do is bring me the body," his voice came.  
  
"Now you're talking!" Nova smiled, sitting back down and reaching for   
  
the money, but the case slammed shut.  
  
"First work, then play... or should I say 'pay?'"  
  
"Very well," Nova frowned, crossing her arms. "What equipment do you   
  
have for me?"  
  
"A true bountyhunter doesn't need her employer's help."  
  
"Then at least give me more information on the guy!" she said, holding   
  
the poster in front of her.  
  
The echidna sighed and reached into one of the desk's drawers, coming   
  
back up with a folder. As he handed it to her, he mumbled: "I wonder how you will survive through this if you can't   
  
even provide for yourself. And remember, I'm not liable for anything that happens to you."  
  
"What do you think I am, an amateur?" Nova growled at his comments.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself," he replied, under his breath.  
  
"Fine!" she yelled, standing up, appalled at the sudden turn in the   
  
conversation. She slammed her gloved hands on the desk and managed to look the   
  
echidna in his distorted face. "Then I guess I will have to show you otherwise!"   
  
With that, she turned to storm out of the room, but when she reached the door,   
  
she called over her shoulder: "By the way, what's your name?" No answer. She   
  
took a closer look to see that she was alone in the room now. "Showoff," she   
  
smirked, exiting.  
  
***  
  
Enter: Nack's point of view.  
  
***  
  
It wasn't easy to do so without the police's help, but I managed to do   
  
some research on the guy, Andrew. Tough nugget; he didn't bother with putting up   
  
an innocent front for all that he did, he just hid out and did it. Where was   
  
that? Well, that's always the hardest part to find out. This time, all sources   
  
pointed to an old abandoned nuclear powerplant out in the middle of New Mexico.   
  
Good thinking I guess, but it's even better when you don't let on to people that   
  
you're there. But one man's folly is another Weasel's gold... or something like   
  
that. And I guess a Weasel's idea of gold can be folly too... ah, well I'm getting off track...  
  
I stood on the second floor balcony of a Motel 6 the night before I   
  
decided to take on the guy. I was just watching the endless line of cars and   
  
semis roll by on the road about a quarter of a mile off, not thinking too much.   
  
Without much warning, a grappling hook shot up in front of me and latched on the   
  
rooftop; that got my attention. I backed up slowly, not sure what to expect. 'Geeze,' I thought, 'could he have found out   
  
that I was after him?' I didn't see how...  
  
A few seconds later, I found out what was happening. A green weasel with   
  
a green hat, green gloves, a green sports-bra, green pants and a (get this) brown vest climbed up the rope to my eye   
  
level and stopped. "Nack?!" she spat out in surprise before losing her grip on the rope, causing her to drop from sight.  
  
"Nova?!" I returned, running to see if she was alright. Sure enough, she   
  
was quickly making her way back up the rope and jumped onto the balcony.  
  
"Nack!" she began cheerfully as she recovered her rope, obviously happy   
  
to see me. "Long time, no see!"  
  
"Yeah! So what are you up to these days?" I asked.  
  
"Bountyhunting, ya know, the usual."  
  
"Hey, that's cool!" I replied. "I'm on a mission myself!"  
  
"Really? What kind of mission?"  
  
"I'm not allowed to say!" I answered without losing any of my   
  
enthusiasm.  
  
"Oh, I get it," she responded, losing some of hers. She walked down the   
  
row of rooms a few feet and unlocked a door. She turned to me and smiled: "Well,   
  
best of luck then!"  
  
"Same to you," I laughed back before she closed her door. I turned and   
  
looked out at the horizon for a few seconds more. "Tomorrow's a big day," I   
  
sighed to myself before turning back into my own room.  
  
Late morning the next day, I found myself slipping under a chain link   
  
fence into the powerplant's exterior. I had a set of shades on along with my   
  
hat; that durn New Mexican sun can really be a killer on the eyes if you don't have the right protection. I kept my head   
  
low for a minute as I searched around for anything that might be a threat. Tumbleweed... Andrew most certainly kept   
  
the "abandoned" detail about the place convincing. I stood up and walked to the   
  
closest building, ST-1 according to the writing on the loading door. As I   
  
approached the entryway to the building, a shocking sight came to my eyes. A body lay in front of the door. I ran   
  
forward and stooped to take a look. Gunshot   
  
wound to the head; sniper rifle at his side. I picked it up and pulled the   
  
magazine from its breach. Five bullets in the rotary clip; this wasn't suicide.   
  
I searched the body and came up with two more clips, both full. I had no clue as   
  
to what happened, but one less henchman for me to deal with is good for me. I   
  
put my arm through the gun's strap, slung it over my shoulder, and walked in.  
  
Again I was confused. Two more bodies greeted me, dead in their own pools   
  
of blood. Before I could do any more body searching, a yell from my right came   
  
to my ears. "There he is!" I turned to see two guys pointing SMGs at me. I   
  
jumped and rolled behind a crate to the sound of 9mm shots whizzing past me. I   
  
pulled my laser from its holster and was about to take my chances to return   
  
fire when a single loud blast came from the opposite direction, followed by the   
  
sound of one of the henchmen's body hitting the dirt. I couldn't see where the   
  
shot came from, so I peeped around the crate and downed the second guard.  
  
Now that they were out of my way, I thought it a good idea to solve the   
  
mystery of the unseen sniper. A single open cargo container called my attention;   
  
what was a better place to find shelter? Sidestepping into full view of the   
  
container, laser held high, I was ready for anything. My aim found itself on   
  
none other than Nova who was in the middle of reloading her .357 magnum.   
  
We both cried out each other's name in surprise. "What do you think   
  
you're doing here?" she asked as she stood up, slapping the magazine back into   
  
the pistol.  
  
"I'm on a mission!" I called back.  
  
"No way!" she growled, raising the gun to my head. "I was here first!"  
  
"You wouldn't pull that trigger!" I yelled back.  
  
"Oh yeah? Why wouldn't I?"  
  
I smiled and gave my answer. "Cause you're still green."  
  
She dropped her aim as well as her jaw with my double insult and just   
  
looked at me for a few seconds in disbelief; and then she slapped me. It was   
  
strong enough to turn my head and knocked the glasses clear off my face. Without regaining eye contact with her, and   
  
pretending like it didn't hurt like hell, I walked over and picked my sunglasses back up, checked to see that they weren't   
  
broken in any way, and replaced them back on my face. "Tell me," I began   
  
solemnly, pointing to one of the corpses. "What do you see there?"  
  
She thought for a few seconds before answering. "I see a poor fool who   
  
got in my way."  
  
"Geeze, you really are still green," I sighed as I turned to walk away.  
  
"D...Don't you dare turn your back on me!" she hissed in anger.  
  
"Why?" I asked over my shoulder. "It's rude to do so to a woman?" I spun   
  
around and this time, it was my turn to hold a gun at her level. I slowly backed   
  
up, keeping my hidden eyes locked with hers.  
  
"You wouldn't pull the trigger!" she scoffed. "I bet that on the inside   
  
you're even greener than I ever was!"  
  
"You're wrong about that theory," I returned, pulling the trigger. Eh,   
  
let me clarify what happened. No, I didn't shoot HER, but rather, I took aim at   
  
the chain which held the container's door open. It slammed shut, sealing her in.  
  
"Damn you, Nack!" I heard her voice come.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," I replied as I sprung on top of the bin. I looked   
  
through the small window in it's top to see her looking back up at me. "I've   
  
had that yelled at me a thousand times by now already. Hey, I'll call you when   
  
I'm ready to set you free!" I laughed down at her as I tossed her one of my two   
  
walkie-talkies. I always took them with me on missions, never knowing when I   
  
would need them, and often not. But when they were needed, they could work   
  
wonders.  
  
I left her alone and proceeded to check out the building ST-2. Nobody   
  
was in the large open warehouse, but a few boxes called to be checked. I broke   
  
one open by force and dug through some shipping popcorn for a few minutes before   
  
I came up with anything. And when I did so, I guess I was a bit more surprised   
  
than I should have been. Syringe after full syringe I brought up. "Morphine," I   
  
read off of one of them, and all of them were exactly the same. That wasn't the   
  
usual type of drug most people I dealed with used; usually they were after   
  
cocaine or heroin. But whatever floated Andy's boat helped float mine...  
  
"Nack!" Nova's voice came over the radio. "Nack! pick up!"  
  
"What do you want?" I shouted back into the radio. The answer that came   
  
over the line was the noise of suppressed gunfire. "Nova! are you there?" I   
  
called back, worried that I had put her in some sort of deathtrap back in ST-1.  
  
"I'm pinned down! I need help!" she called back. "Building..." More   
  
gunfire and interference before her voice came back: "ST-3!"  
  
"What?" I yelled as I turned and started for the exit. "How... never   
  
mind, I'll be right there!"  
  
I climbed up ST-3's fire escape rather than using the front door; the   
  
amount of gunfire I could clearly hear now ensured me that the fight was still   
  
very alive. I burst through the door to find myself on a catwalk overlooking the   
  
rest of the sunlit warehouse. Nova really was pinned down well, between two rows   
  
of crates that stood about four feet high with guys trying to get her from both   
  
sides. There were six of them, eight if you count the two that Nova killed   
  
already. But she was running out of time, I could see it. Without hesitation, I   
  
armed my rifle, aimed, and drew a bead into the back of one of the henchmen who   
  
had his back to me. Silence is golden, this gun was not; the shot left a buzzing   
  
in my own ears. It also got me a lot of attention, and I found myself on my own   
  
stomach, pinned down myself. Nova knew what to do however, and I heard three   
  
magnum shots ring out over the hum of the SMGs. I looked back down to see that   
  
four remained; Nova either missed twice or was making sure she did a clean job,   
  
either way didn't matter too much right then. One of the guards jumped up on the   
  
crates and was about to fire down on her, that is if I didn't blow his leg out.   
  
He fell into the space with her and got a crack to the head by the barrel of   
  
Nova's magnum.  
  
Three left. Two left... My ears were not happy, but speaking of ears,   
  
such a high caliber weapon such as that rifle can send more than the noise in   
  
one ear and out the other... I'll leave you to figure that one out. Not a pretty   
  
sight. Neither was Nova's next shot, nearly point blank to one of the two's   
  
throat.  
  
One left. Strength in numbers is a good thing, and this guy was smart   
  
enough to know that he didn't have it any more. He let out a pathetic little   
  
scream as he dropped the SMG and ran for the door. "Good target practice," I   
  
whispered to myself as I put a bullet through his foot.  
  
"Didn't your mother tell you not to play with your food?" Nova shouted   
  
at me as she took aim and fired. I couldn't watch...  
  
"You're still green!" I shouted at her with anger as I reached the   
  
ground floor. "You don't just kill a man who surrenders!"  
  
"Oh, Nack!" she began, sandwiching me between herself and ceiling   
  
support beam. "You saved my life! Thank you!" She hugged me tighter and gave me   
  
a little kiss.  
  
"Uh, yes, I did... You still have a lot to learn..."  
  
"I know," she agreed, kissing me again. "Maybe you can teach me   
  
sometime."  
  
"Well, of course!" I laughed a bit, starting to get a bit giddy from her   
  
sudden behavior. "Hey, by the way, how did you get out of the container?"  
  
"Same way I got to my motel room," she laughed.  
  
I laughed back. "You can work quite a few wonders with that rope!"  
  
"Yeah," she replied. "You don't even know of my latest 'wonder!'"  
  
"And what might that be?"  
  
She laughed playfully as she backed away from me, holding her   
  
walkie-talkie for me to see. "I think I'll be the one to call YOU when I feel   
  
like letting you go!"  
  
Me and women... before I got married, they gave me lots of problems, and   
  
here was a perfect example... she had tied my waist to the beam without me even   
  
knowing it! "See you around, Fang!" she laughed again as she started walking   
  
away.  
  
"Nova, wait!" I yelled after her. "You're going to get yourself killed!"  
  
I pulled and strained against the rope with all my might, but it didn't give. I even tried undoing the   
  
knot, but it was too tight and I couldn't tell just by feeling what kind of knot it was. But after a while of   
  
thinking, I noticed that I wasn't as trapped as I thought. The rope didn't look too heat resistant, so out with   
  
my laser and one shot broke it clear off me.  
  
"Nova!" I began, panting, as I reached her which was a few dozen yards away from ST-3. "C'mon,   
  
now! Why'd you do that?"  
  
"Why did you lock me in that cargo bin?" she asked back with anger in her voice.  
  
"I did it for your protection!"  
  
"MY protection?" she shouted back, turning to me and putting her hands on her hips. "Let me   
  
guess, you still think I'm 'green,' is that it?"  
  
"Yeah, you hit it on the nose!" I yelled back, growing angrier and angrier by the second.  
  
"Well understand one thing, Fang," she spat out, "This green gal just upshowed you back there!"  
  
"Upshowed ME?! I got out of it with no problem, didn't I?"  
  
"Well, it sure took you one hell of a lot longer to get out of it than I got out of what you did to   
  
me!"  
  
"Yeah, and what came of it? You almost killed yourself! If it weren't for me-"  
  
"Admit it!" she interrupted. "I'm the better of the both of us right now, and by the way, you're a   
  
horrible kisser!"  
  
"What?" I gasped at her new criticism, "Just because I didn't return it...?"  
  
"Oh, so now you're using the I'm-not-trying-my-hardest excuse? Ha! If you really think you're half   
  
as good as you think you are, go on, prove it, right here, right now!" she yelled out, not thinking her words   
  
out too much.  
  
I guess I didn't think before I spoke either, I was so enraged. "Alright, I think I will!" I pulled her   
  
close to me, held the back of her head, and frenched her right there. I didn't hold anything back, and neither   
  
did she. It was quite aggressive if I recall it correctly, I guess it was cause we were both still blinded with   
  
anger. After a good fifteen or twenty seconds, it broke, and we just looked at each other, mild anger still   
  
written on our faces.  
  
Oh boy... it was only then that I realized exactly what just happened, and I guess that it was   
  
sinking in for her at the same time. So what do you say after you perform an action like that which is so   
  
much louder than words? "Let's get back to that Andrew guy," I said loudly and nervously.  
  
"Right," she nodded, equally nervous. Well, I'm glad for my whiskers, cause I must have been beet   
  
red under it all, and so was she, I reckon. But, hey, she DID ask for it.  
  
We entered ST-4 together, quietly. The building was shaped like an "L," and we were at the long   
  
end. We walked along the round level, searching for anything of worth, but the building seemed to only   
  
house some computer mainframes and a power generator which was connected to a large energy cell by a   
  
pair of cables: one positive, one negative. Nova picked up a long chain, saying something about it being   
  
good enough to replace her rope for the time being. I kept searching some old crates, unable to find   
  
anything of interest. Had there been any snipers in that building, I guess it would have been the end of us,   
  
but we were about to find that there was something much deadlier than any old sniper waiting for us.  
  
We hadn't gotten halfway through the first half of the building when a voice came to our ears,   
  
echoing through the large warehouse. "My friends, welcome!" Nova's eyes as well as my own shot up to a   
  
single catwalk at the far end of the room. There stood Andrew, dressed in a nice suit, with his hands behind   
  
his back at ease. He didn't look nearly as intimidating as he did on the wanted poster, but it was clearly him.   
  
I could even go as far as to say he looked like a warm, friendly man, but I knew that he was more dead   
  
metal and super-high tech machinery than he was alive.  
  
"Andrew Millitek, I presume?" I called back.  
  
"You are correct in your assumption. I would have, based on my first impression of your   
  
appearances, guessed that you came here seeking some of my biotechnological enhancements, but the fact   
  
that you've dispatched several of my men leads me to believe otherwise."  
  
"Would you guess that we did come for some of YOUR enhancements?" Nova asked   
  
threateningly.  
  
Andrew let out a short laugh. "Bountyhunters, I see. I seem to collect them... or at least their   
  
corpses."  
  
"Well, I'm quite a rare one to come by," I replied.  
  
"Well then, let's see what we have here..." He stared at me hard for a few good seconds, scanning   
  
the mainframes with his enhanced vision. "Nack... As in Fang the Sniper?" I nodded with a small smile,   
  
showing off what I owed that name to. "Mobius' most acclaimed bountyhunter, sniper, and treasurehunter...   
  
as well as common criminal. Indeed, you will make a wonderful addition to my collection. Tell me, did you   
  
know that there is a bounty on your own head?"  
  
I'd rather not think about it, but it didn't surprise me much. "Look who's talking," Nova broke in.  
  
"And you, Miss... Nova is it? Murderer and bountyhunter. Excellent! this is going to be quite fun.   
  
You two must be lovers I'm guessing? Well then, to death do you part, right? Don't worry, your heads will   
  
be together above my mantle place."  
  
"The best things in life aren't free, Andy," I shouted back, "So if you want us, you'll need to earn   
  
it."  
  
"Heh, doesn't sound like much of a challenge to me. But if you hold any value on your lives, I   
  
recommend that you turn around and clear this facility right now." With that, the coyote turned and walked   
  
around the corner, getting out of our sight.   
  
"That bounty's mine," I growled as I started to run towards the intersection between the two parts   
  
of the building.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Nova shouted back. "I didn't come all this way for nothing!"  
  
"We'll see whos gun brings him down," I said, pulling out my laser.  
  
"You're on!"  
  
We rounded the corner and stood looking at Andrew, who was now on ground level and only   
  
about thirty feet away. "This is where you die," he said rather bluntly. "But why must it be that way? I'll tell   
  
you what, go on and get out of here before I get to you," he began, taking a few slow steps forward, "And   
  
I'll let you go. Otherwise, you will die a very unpleasant, but quick death."  
  
In response, I pointed my laser and fired. The beam would have hit no other mark but his   
  
forehead, but a bright red flash formed around his body and when it faded, he was unharmed. "The world's   
  
most advanced body armor! I'll admit, it isn't part of my biotechnology, but you'll still need to do better   
  
than that." I knew that my laser wasn't strong enough to do the job against the shield, but the answer to that   
  
problem came in the form of a loud bang to my right.   
  
I turned to see Nova pointing her smoking magnum at Andrew, and the cyborg had stopped   
  
coming forward in order to regain his balance. He reached under his vest and felt around the area where his   
  
heart was only to bring up a sparking piece of equipment... Nova had destroyed the shield... quite a   
  
pleasant surprise at the time.  
  
"That cost me a lot of money, you will both pay!" Andrew yelled, rage written over every aspect   
  
of his body. I aimed again and fired at him with my laser, but he seemed to not feel it as he ran up to me   
  
and grabbed it. "You burn me," he laughed wickedly as he smashed it and pulled it from my grip. I kneed   
  
him in the stomach, but didn't get so much as an "oomph" from him. Next, he ripped the rifle from my   
  
shoulder and broke it in two as if it were a twig. In turn, I tried tackling him, but it was like I was going up   
  
against a football pro; he didn't budge, but rather, grabbed me by the nape of my neck and held me up to his   
  
eye level, my feet dangling in midair. "Fool. Mr. Weasel, give up now and perish!"  
  
I don't know what he had planned to do to me, but Nova's voice broke in. "Hey, metalhead!" As he   
  
turned, the noise of metal on metal echoed through the building as the chain whipped across his face.   
  
Andrew quickly dropped me and turned to Nova, who was bringing the chain back around for a second   
  
blow. He caught it and what happened next was an awe-inspiring and blood-chilling event.  
  
He flung the chain above his head as if it really were a whip, and Nova went with it, suspended at   
  
the chain's full length in air. Then, he brought it down quickly, completing the whipping motion. Nova   
  
chose a bad time to let go and went flying strait into one of the walls. As he laughed at his   
  
"accomplishment," I ran to Nova's side.   
  
"Nova! Nova! are you ok?" I asked as I stooped next to her slumped form. All I got was a small   
  
whimper: she got the wind knocked out of her; who knows, maybe a broken rib or two (I never took the   
  
time to find out exactly what happened to her), but it wasn't anything that was immediately too serious.  
  
"You're dragging this out, now how would you like to die: slowly from a bleeding renal artery, or   
  
quickly with a broken neck?" Andrew taunted.  
  
"You'll be ok," I whispered to Nova as I reached to her holster and pulled out the revolver, but   
  
blocking Andrew's view as I did so. Slowly I stood up with my back to the monster and closed my eyes.   
  
"Tell me Millitek, if you kill us, how much higher do you think your bounty will be?"  
  
"For killing Fang the Sniper? I should think it would improve ten-fold!"  
  
I smiled a bit at that remark. "So I'm really worth that much? Tell me, do you even know why they   
  
call me Fang the Sniper?"  
  
With that, I my eyes shot open, I turned around 180 degrees to face him, and I took aim... all in   
  
one swift move. My second move was to pull the trigger... the time that all took was a little less than one   
  
fifth of a second. The high powered bullet ricocheted off of Andrew's highly protected left eye, but at the   
  
same time, the shot was strong enough to shatter it, creating a shower of broken glass and sparks. He roared   
  
in pain and surprise as he held his hands to his "wound," temporarily, but totally, blinded.  
  
I took the opportunity to run up to him and placed the gun to his head; I'm a pretty good shot at   
  
that range. Click. No boom. I counted to myself quickly... four shots when Nova was pinned down, one   
  
shot to destroy the shield, and one to break his artificial eye... yep, Nova forgot to reload before we entered   
  
the building. So I holstered it and tried punching strait down into his head. The result: I yelled out in pain, it   
  
felt like I had just punched a cow in the head, and he didn't budge.   
  
No ammo, and fists weren't gonna work... When you're a bountyhunter for life, you learn to   
  
improvise really fast. The generator!  
  
I unplugged the cell and held the two plugs in both hands, and my plan was to just wire the guy   
  
right then and there, but that wasn't going to be as easy as I though. His laugh came to my ear, and I got a   
  
good look at my own "work." His flesh (if it had been real in the first place) around the eye was burned off,   
  
and the glowing of the blinking circuitry could be seen where his eye had been. "Fang the Sniper ran out of   
  
ammo... I guess that makes you just Fang the Weasel now!"  
  
"Indeed," I answered, taking my shades off and laying them on the ground. "As you can see, I   
  
have quite an advantage now..." I didn't mean for that to be a double insult at the time, but hey, it worked.   
  
"You really think I needed that eye? My sight is still far superior to yours!"  
  
"Well... well then, take a look at this," Nova's voice came, half pain, half taunt. Yeah, for such   
  
superior eyesight, he kinda missed out on something big, cause she was standing right next to him now. He   
  
turned and was about to smash her into bits, but before he got that chance, she kicked him right in the...   
  
well... the place where us guys really should avoid getting hit. (Hey, I'll always remember the day Sally   
  
Acorn did that to me... even I don't take that kind of blow well at all.) Nova was hopping on one foot,   
  
holding the other in her hands in pain. Her kick made quite a noise... kinda like she kicked a drainage pipe   
  
or something... very hollow. While the two were reeling from the blow, I ran forward and clamped the   
  
cables on Andrew's upper arms. As I stood by the generator, about to flip the switch, I yelled: "Nova, stand   
  
back!"  
  
I waited about a second for her to get clear, then flipped the switch. He yelled out as the electricity   
  
arced through and over his body. Even with the high voltage, I thought that for a guy like him, it would be   
  
only safe to leave the circuit completed for a good minute.   
  
When I broke it, he just kinda stood there, looking like he could topple over any way at any   
  
second, waving back and forth. Then, suddenly, he stood erect, totally rigid, and a small shower of sparks   
  
shot forth from all of his joints. He fell over backwards without losing any of his rigidity, and I guess that   
  
he was both really heavy and brittle right then, cause when he hit, his metallic right arm snapped right off at   
  
the elbow, and the noise was very metallic and definitive... this fight was over.  
  
"Nack!" Nova started, hugging me again. "You really did save my life this time... I... thank you!"  
  
"Hey, what can I say, I couldn't have done it without you!" with that, I handed her revolver back to   
  
her.  
  
"Hey, that's right! It was MY gun that did the real damage! I win!"  
  
"Yep," I laughed lightly. "You most certainly aren't leaving empty-handed... Hey, are you ok? You   
  
did get pretty beat up."  
  
"I'll be fine... I'm just really sore..."  
  
"Well, maybe I can help you feel better!"  
  
"What? Are you suggesting... what I think you're suggesting?"  
  
"Yep," I smiled at her and... prick! "You could use a nap!"  
  
"Wha-?" she moaned, falling to her knees, giving in to the euphoria.  
  
"Morphine!" I smiled cheerfully, pointing to the now empty syringe. Oh I'm bad...  
  
***Exit Nack's point of view***  
  
Nova's next realization showed her that she was back in her dark motel room, laying on her bed. It   
  
took a minute or so for her to fully recall what happened but when she did...  
  
"Nack, you little son of a-" she rolled over, and when she did so, she felt something under her. She   
  
flipped her bedside lamp to get a better look of what was there. What she saw was, to say the least, unusual,   
  
and fairly good.  
  
"Bitch!" she completed her train of thought, slapping her hand to her forehead and smiling widely.   
  
There was a large stack of money and Andrew's arm laying there, hers for the keeping. She didn't feel like   
  
counting it all right then; but she knew that there was a lot there. So she picked up that robotic arm. It was   
  
heavy enough to surprise her, but what surprised her even more was what was attached to its sleeve. A   
  
note:  
  
"Dear Nova,  
  
Hey there! You may be green on the outside, but inside is a different story. Keep up the work, but   
  
don't take on such big missions yet... you still have a lot to learn, like reloading before rushing into a fight   
  
*cough*. As for what is green, your wallet. $675,000 for you, $675,000 for me... sounds fair, right? No?   
  
well, deal with it, I'll be out of town and out of sight by the time you read this. By the way, you aren't a bad   
  
kisser yourself ^^. So, I'll catch you on the other side!  
  
~Fang the Sniper.  
  
Ps. Remember this song, it will help you out somehow... I call it the anthem of bountyhunters; I doubt   
  
you'll think otherwise.  
  
When you were young, and your heart was an open book,  
  
You used to say live and let live (You know you did, you know you did,  
  
you know you did!)  
  
But if this ever changing world makes you give in and cry...  
  
Say Live and Let die!  
  
What does it matter to ya? When you got a job to do, you gotta do it well,  
  
You gotta give the other fellow hell!  
  
...  
  
You used to say live and let live (Ya know ya did, ya know ya did, ya know ya did!)  
  
But if this ever changing world makes you give in and cry...  
  
Say Live and Let Die!"  
  
"Well, Nack," Nova whispered to herself, "If you say so." She flipped the light off, lay back down,   
  
and fell back to sleep for the night, dreaming of other missions with her idol, Fang the Sniper.  
  
The end.  
  
Look for Nova's next appearance!  
  
Emerald Sword... 


End file.
